Seattle School Board Presentation: 10-23-02 re TOPS Assignment Policy (Ben Low)

The dilemma of 37 families who have felt unjustly assigned to MLK Elementary School has led the District to far-reaching proposals that will have wide-spread and enduring consequences.

The problem is not logistical. The problem, inescapably, is about race and social class, and the injustice and inequality of ‘market-driven” solutions that champion the benefit of the privileged few over the opportunity of the many.

Mr. Olchefske and Mr. Lilly, how will your modest proposals bring the District closer to eliminating the problem of disproportionality--one of the District’s own major initiatives, for which funding from the Gates Foundation has been secured with presumably honorable intentions?

Mr. Olchefske, why is it acceptable for children of the central district to attend a non-performing, spurned school, but it is “disenfranchising” for white families of 98102 to do so? Are they not part of the dream for excellence for all children in every school?

Mr. Olchefske, why has there been NO RESPONSE from you or the Board about how the District will strengthen MLK Elementary School and make it a viable school in the central cluster?

Mr. Olchefske, I think I speak for many, when I say I fear that you have lost sight of the District’s mission, and of that “daring vision” that your predecessor, Supt. John Stanford, brought to us.

I fear that you have led your own Board, and are now trying to lead us to sell out “just and equal opportunity” for “market share”—the latest euphemistic justification for unprincipled pursuit of a buck.

I fear that with your 2 sets of motions, you and Mr. Lilly are sorely tempted to use the current budget mess to excuse and sanction the protection of “neighborhoodism” at the expense of the District’s self-chosen mission of equal opportunity and academic achievement for every child. No one believes that cutting bus costs and dismantling one of the District’s strongest programs will balance the budget or increase the number of quality schools in the central cluster.

Please, consider the data on disproportionality. Remember the District’s mission. Recall Mr. Stanford’s dream.

The present system is flawed, but it treats us all equally. Resist the temptation to fix the problems of a privileged few, at the expense of equal opportunity for the many. Resist the path of institutionalized racism and resegregation. Keep the assignment process, but help us work with the schools of the central cluster to build stronger schools for all children who live there.

Thank you.